Total No of Rhinos slaughtered in South Africa to Dec 31st 2017 = 1028. Official figures. Read my blog below for Headlines from around the World concerning the Global Catastrophe that is causing the biggest mass extinction since the Permian Period, and News of the fight to stop the slaughter of the Planet's Wildlife before it is too late.

Nature Explored

Friday, 27 February 2015

Poachers in the Save valley in Zimbabwe killed two small black rhino for their horns. One was about nine months old and the other about three years old. They bioth shared the same mother, who was also shot and wounded. The horn on the younger one only weighed about 40 grams.

The mother was treated for her wounds, and at first appeard to make a quick recovery, but died seven months later from a bone marrow infection in her leg caused by one of the poachers bullets lodged in it.

There are less than 500 black rhino left in Zimbabwe. According to official figures rhino poaching is declining in Zimbabwe. There were 52 killed in 2010 and only 16 in 2013.

Bryce Clemence of Anti-Poaching and Tracking Specialists (ATS) and his team of trained rangers have been operating in the private Save Valley Conservancy since April 2012. He felt that although they kept having thee setbacks he was optimistic about the future for rhinos in Zimbabwe.

China has announced a one-year ban on the import of ivory carvings amid mounting criticism over the country’s role in the annual slaughter of thousands of African elephants.

The ban was announced on the website of China’s State Administration of Forestry on Thursday. Xinhua, China’s official news agency, said authorities would evaluate the temporary ban’s impact on the killing of elephants in Africa, which last year reached “critically high levels”, according to the United Nations.

China has faced severe criticism for the role the country’s thirst for ivory plays in the annual slaughter of thousands of elephants outside its borders.

Thursday’s announcement of a one-year ban on the import of ivory carvings falls well short of demands made earlier this month by Sir David Attenborough and a host of other leading conservationaists for a complete ban on the trade of ivory in China.

The moratorium was “window dressing,” the UK-based Environmental Investigation Agency said, according to Associated Press. ”It is unfortunate that [Beijing has] not announced a much-needed policy change by banning all domestic trade in ivory — this is the policy change that could actually make a difference for elephants in Africa,” Shruti Suresh, wildlife campaigner from the group, was quoted as saying.

- See more at: http://africageographic.com/blog/china-announces-one-year-ivory-ban/#sthash.TauhRKdY.dpuf

And what about imports of raw ivory?

China
has announced a one-year ban on the import of ivory carvings amid
mounting criticism over the country’s role in the annual slaughter of
thousands of African elephants.

The move comes days before Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, is
expected to raise the plight of African elephants during a tour of China
and follows recent calls from Sir David Attenborough and other
conservationists for a total ban on China’s domestic ivory trade.
The ban was announced on the website of China’s State Administration
of Forestry on Thursday. Xinhua, China’s official news agency, said
authorities would evaluate the temporary ban’s impact on the killing of
elephants in Africa, which last year reached “critically high levels”,
according to the United Nations.
The Duke of Cambridge, who is known for his wildlife activism, is
likely to highlight the dismal situation facing Africa’s dwindling
elephant populations during a three-day trip to China next week.
On Wednesday the Duke will travel to Xishuangbanna in China’s
southwest province of Yunnan to visit an elephant rehabilitation centre.
The region has been the focus of major government efforts to protect
Asian wild elephants in recent years and their work has received praise
for reducing poaching and helping elephant populations recover.However, China has faced severe
criticism for the role the country’s thirst for ivory plays in the
annual slaughter of thousands of elephants outside its borders.
Xi Jinping needed to completely ban China’s domestic ivory trade in
order to help halt the killings of African elephants, Sir David
Attenborough and a group of campaigners said earlier this month in an
open letter to China’s president. “Unless urgent actions are taken by
the international community, and China in particular, to stop this
demand, the killing of elephants will continue unabated and could lead
to their extinction in much of their range areas within a short time –
possibly as little as 10 years,” they wrote.
Thursday’s announcement of a one-year ban on the import of ivory carvings falls well short of those demands.
The moratorium was “window dressing,” the UK-based Environmental
Investigation Agency said, according to Associated Press. ”It is
unfortunate that [Beijing has] not announced a much-needed policy change
by banning all domestic trade in ivory — this is the policy change that
could actually make a difference for elephants in Africa,” Shruti
Suresh, wildlife campaigner from the group, was quoted as saying.
- See more at: http://africageographic.com/blog/china-announces-one-year-ivory-ban/#sthash.TauhRKdY.dpuf

Wednesday, 25 February 2015

African Parks’ efforts to resolve the poaching crisis in Garamba National Park have been bolstered by a$2 million grant from the Howard G. Buffett Foundation (HGBF), a private foundation in the United States.

The funding was used to purchase a Eurocopter (Airbus) AS 350 B3 model helicopter, designed to accommodate a pilot plus five rangers with sufficient weapons and equipment for a 10-day patrol. It is equipped with night vision capabilities and has been fully-fitted for African Parks’ law enforcement operations.

Elephant-poaching by well-armed criminal groups (at least one of which is poaching from a military helicopter), by the Lord’s Resistance Army and by local armed groups, reached unprecedented levels during 2014.

Peter Fernhead, CEO of African Parks said "As a conservation organisation we are not in the business of fighting guerrilla armies, rogue military units or criminal groups but when their activities threaten the survival of the protected areas for which we are responsible, we are compelled to act".

African Parks is a non-profit organisation that takes on total responsibility for the rehabilitation and long-term management of national parks in partnership with governments, wildlife organisations and local communities.

- See more at: http://africageographic.com/blog/garamba-national-park-gets-2-million-donation/#sthash.J2OHl5EO.dpuf

Tuesday, 17 February 2015

In a massive blow to the population of South Africa’s national bird, between 200 and a thousand blue cranes have been poisoned, allegedly by a well-known Northern Cape farmer.

The farmer, from the Richmond district in the Northern Cape, allegedly poisoned the birds over a
period of three years since 2012.

The birds were apparently attracted to newly planted fields and pivots on his farm, which is designated as a sheep and cattle farm, further raising the possible contravention of land use and irrigation development laws by the farmer.

Farm workers dipped corn in a poison called Temic, also known as “Two Step” or Aldicarb, to deliberately poison the birds. The workers then collected the carcasses of the dead birds and buried them in porcupine and aardvark holes

Around 20 years ago there were about 100000 and today there are less than 20000.

- See more at: http://africageographic.com/blog/blue-crane-massacre/#sthash.disym5HF.dpuf

The European Commission has closed a major loophole exploited by criminal gangs trafficking in high-value hunting trophies that carry tusks and horns.

According to the new requirements, hunting trophies of six listed, threatened or endangered species obtained through the result of sustainable hunting will have to be accompanied by an import permit indicating details of the legal hunt. The legislation aims to specifically address issues around the illegal imports, by introducing the mandatory requirement of hunting-trophy import permits for the species.

The six species covered under the new regulations are the African elephant, Southern white rhinoceros, African lion, Hippopotamus, Polar bear and Argali sheep.

Last December 19 people were charged in the Czech Republic for illegal trafficking of rhino horns that were obtained from pseudo hunts in South Africa. The so called hunts were connected Vietnamese syndicates based in the Czezh Republic.

The hunters were exporting the horns from Soth Africa as trophies, but them signing them over to the gangs. Authorities believe that over 100 horns have been shippedto Vietnam from the Eu in this manner.

Several other Vietnamese traffickers have been arrested in the EU in 2014 , with large quantities of Ivory being recovered as well as Lion and Tiger parts.

The new import permits will also allow the EU to prohibit imports of trophies from countries where the EU Wildlife Trade Regulations’ Scientific Review Group has decided that trophy hunting of the species is not sustainable. As of today no further imports of lion trophies from Benin, Burkina Faso, and Cameroon, where the populations have plummeted due to over-hunting and human wildlife conflict, will be permitted by the EU.

Tuesday, 10 February 2015

Malawi’s Kasungu magistrates handed out a record sentence recently of four years in prison to a man who killed a Serval cat. Ganizani Nkhata went to prison for four years because he couldn't pay a fine of MK450 000 (US$1 000) after he poached the cat in Kasungu National Park in August 2014.

The serval had been rescued and subsequently released back into the wild by local wildlife charity, Lilongwe Wildlife Trust. Servals are small spotted cats, sometimes mistaken for leopards.

On the 12th August they lost the data but not the signal from a tracking collar tat was being used to log the cat's movements in the Park.

They signal finally pointed to the house of the accused person where it was hidden.

The Senior Resident Magistrate made it clear that he wanted to show that wildlife crime was being taken seriously by the authorities and that the very future of Malawi’s wildlife, and indeed tourism and the economy, were being threatened by this type of activity.

Monday, 2 February 2015

The latest government figures show that the incidence of poaching has reduced by half from 2013.The figures are expected to drop further after Kenya Wildlife Service clarified that no animal has been poached this year.

KWS acting director general William Kiprono said poaching of elephants in Kenya has gone down by 47 per cent. At least 300 elephants were killed in 2013, but this fell to 164 last year. He said rhino poaching went down 40 per cent from 59 in 2013 to 35 last year. "This was made possible through concerted efforts by KWS, the communities and other stakeholders. It shows that poaching can finally be eradicated".